A 20-year-old Haitian immigrant living in Springfield, Ohio, died by suicide on Monday after losing his protected immigration status, according to his family and local reports.
Pierre Damas Bel died after parking his car on Interstate 70 and walking into traffic, police said. His family believes his death was an act of suicide, prompted by struggles with bullying and humiliation over an ankle monitor he was required to wear after his status was revoked.
Bel had arrived in the United States in 2024 and recently graduated high school. His family had also fled Haiti and all received Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a designation that allowed approximately 330,000 Haitians to live and work in the U.S. However, in July, the Trump administration halted the TPS program and initiated an electronic monitoring campaign, with a significant focus on Springfield.
His father, Pierre Ronal Bel, recounted a video call with his son just hours before his death. "He called me at 8:03 on a video call, [and said] I'm not feeling okay mentally because of the bullying, and I told him to come home so we can talk," his father stated to The New York Times. Shortly after, he learned of his son's death.
Bel had expressed his feelings of shame and humiliation on Instagram a month prior to his death. He posted photos of his academic and extracurricular achievements, including receiving an award of excellence, a superior fitness award, and his high school diploma. "I came to this country to pursue my education. I didn’t come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone. Yet now I’m walking through the streets of the United States with a GPS monitor on my leg," Bel wrote. He added that he felt he was being treated like a criminal and questioned how he could play college sports with the monitor.
Bel was set to begin his first semester at Wright State University, where he had earned a scholarship. He had been unable to play soccer at Wittenberg University due to the ankle monitor, according to the Wittenberg men's soccer team. His father reported that Bel made two trips to plead with officers to remove the monitor so he could play soccer, feeling embarrassed and humiliated among his classmates.
"After he had the ankle monitor fixed on him, Bel's father said his son was 'treated like an animal'," WSYX reported. Bel had also been inducted into the National Honor Society at Springfield High School, served as co-captain of the soccer team, and was a lieutenant in the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
Pastor Carl Ruby, an advocate for Haitian immigrants, wrote on Facebook that he believed President Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, and Markwayne Mullin's immigration policies contributed to Bel's death. "I'm sitting with a family right now whose son threw himself in front of a semi truck today after being teased by fellow students at Wright State about his ankle monitor," Ruby posted.
Wright State University President Sue Edwards released a statement expressing sorrow over the loss. "Pierre was an active honors student who was passionate about soccer and was already actively engaged in his classes and the campus community. The University mourns the death of Pierre and extends our deepest condolences to his family, friends and loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time," Edwards said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) declined to comment on Bel's death but stated that the monitor was fitted in July as an alternative to detention, adding, "No one is required to stay in the United States illegally and wear a monitor."
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called Bel's death a "horrible, horrible tragedy." He questioned the policy of mass deportations and whether it represented what the country truly wanted.
Friends and classmates remembered Bel as a bright, energetic, and ambitious young man. Miles Dooley, 18, recalled Bel winning a five-kilometer charity race for a local food bank. "He was so thrilled when he crossed that finish line," Dooley told The New York Times. Kaitlyn Bitzan, a friend and former co-worker, wrote on Facebook, "It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that someone who talked about his future with so much ambition isn’t going to get the chance to live it."